Friday, 31 October 2014

LHSA has a very rich, diverse photograph collection,
dating back to the early years of photography. To help celebrate this, and
highlight some of the less well-known images and stories, we have decided to
put up a series of themed images on Twitter in the following weeks. As
a quick taster of what's to come, here are just a few:

A delivery to the Blood Transfusion Service
at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, 1940s.

Friday, 24 October 2014

Over
the last few months I have been helping as a LHSA volunteer on the Royal
National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Scotland project ‘Seeing our History -
Living with Sight Loss in Edwardian Edinburgh and the Lothians’.With the backing of Heritage Lottery Funding,
this project brings expertise and volunteers together from many different
backgrounds to help to unlock the history of what life was like for blind and
partially-sighted people in Edinburgh and other parts of Scotland during the
Edwardian period.

According
to RNIB, the experiences of blind and partially sighted people have been
largely neglected in areas of social and cultural history, but by bringing to
life a resource from the RNIB Scotland/Edinburgh and Lothians Archive, now held
at LHSA, teams of experts and volunteers are about to take on this gap in
history.Therefore the project is based
around an excellent source within the archive collection, the Register of the
Outdoor Blind for Edinburgh and Lothians from around 1903 to 1910.This Register was used to document the lives
of 1170 blind or partially-sighted individuals. The period in which it covers
was a time before major development and support for sight-related disability
was available and so often these individuals had to depend on minimum
support.The Register enables us to
trace details about these individuals including: name; address; place of birth;
age when sight was lost; cause of blindness; marital status; how employed;
weekly earnings before losing sight and weekly income after; and date of death.This raw data, alongside records held within
the National Records of Scotland (NRS) such as Census and Parish Registers,
will be used in a research collaboration between partnerships of sighted and
partially sighted volunteers.Between
them the aim is to collect life stories about those individuals recorded in the
Register and hopefully contribute to a better understanding about the lives of
blind and partially-sighted people years ago.Once life stories have been compiled, a series will be broadcast on the
RNIB Insight Radio and other resources made available about the projects
findings.

This
project has created an exciting opportunity for many different people
to get involved at its different stages.As was one of the aims, certainly from my
experience at the pre-research stage, the project has also provided an opportunity
for those involved to develop skills useful within the heritage and information
profession.I have only very recently
finished my degree in Information Management and Preservation from the University of
Glasgow. Working on a project such as this has not only allowed me
to gain new practical skills, but
it has also allowed me to tackle issues surrounding the best ways to make
archival resources accessible.

The
Register is a single bound volume in handwritten format, often difficult to
read, and therefore had to be transcribed for the researchers to use for preservation needs as well as on account of the difficulties that
interpreting handwriting can bring to those with limited experience.As a volunteer with LHSA I was asked to
create an Access database and produce a set of guidelines for another volunteer,
alongside some very helpful LHSA staff, to use in order to input the data from
the Register.Transcribing the
information into an Access database was the most effective way to ensure that the
data from the original document identified each individual in a coherent and
organised format, and could best assist the needs of the researchers.

Clair hard at work with the Register

This
has been a really interesting process because it has made me think about the
role of the archivist and accessibility, dealing with issues such as avoiding
personal interpretation of archival materials, whilst at the same time making a
rich resource easier to use.It was
really important to get this balance right and to emphasise within the
guidelines the importance of getting as accurate and as authentic transcription
of the Register as possible.Working
with the original document flared up many issues that were important to address
to ensure that those transcribing the Register were consistent throughout the
whole transcription.For example, as the Register was filled in between around 1903 and 1910, different people
have used different abbreviations to describe details, such as the cause of blindness or people's
marital status or religious denomination.It was important that every variation of the abbreviation was
transcribed and accounted for. To solve the issue of what they all denoted,
a key was created in order to provide meaning to each and every abbreviation
that was used.The guidelines emphasised
the ‘golden rule’ for transcribing – the importance of transcribing exactly
what you see, rather than what you think it should say, so as to avoid personal
interpretation.This was often harder
than it sounds especially when the handwriting was difficult to read.I think the key to ensuring this level of accuracy
was to remind ourselves that each entry within the Register captures certain
aspects of a person’s life and, therefore, each person deserves the same amount
of attention to detail and accuracy.These issues were also important for the researchers to be aware of in
order to increase usability of the resource.Therefore a separate set of guidelines was produced for the researchers
and I also had the pleasure of explaining these guidelines to the research
group when I met them at the NRS.

I
have thoroughly enjoyed being part of this project and the exciting prospect of
helping to make such a rich resource more accessible.Hopefully once the research stage is complete
many other different types of researchers as well as the general public will be
able to learn about another interesting part in our society’s history.

Friday, 17 October 2014

My favourite part of my job is coming up with new creative ways
of storing the modern objects found in the HIV/AIDS collections. It’s not just
a case of sticking them into a box and hoping they will be alright; you have to
think about what the item is made from, how it will deteriorate, in what way it
will be used in the future and how frequently it will be consulted.

Conservation Scientist, Anita Quye, recently visited the LHSA
studio to give advice on how to identify different plastics and how to store
them. One top tip she described when identifying plastics, is to think about
how the item was used originally. For example, balloons need to be flexible to
be blown up; therefore they are likely to contain a lot of plasticisers. This
means that as they degrade and lose their plasticisers, they are likely to
become very brittle. Plastic banners made for use outdoors, on the other hand, need
to be lightfast (not discolour in light) and as such, are suitable for exhibition,
where they are subject to light for a long period of time.

Once the type of plastic has been identified and the
potential conservation risks considered, it’s time to think about the storage of
the object. Storage can depend on the conservation needs of the particular
object. We have a large collection of balloons in the HIV/AIDS collections, that
were used in health promotion campaigns. Since balloons are likely to become
brittle over time, it is a good idea to create storage that will reduce flexing
of the balloons as much as possible. Balloon samples were previously housed wrapped in tissue paper, inside the original envelope which
recorded the type and colour the balloons it contained. This was not ideal as
the balloons needed to be handled a lot to view them, and in some cases the
balloons had become stuck to the tissue paper. To store these, I made shallow
trays from box board and created a frame from mount board to hold the balloons
and envelope in place. I also lined the boxed with an activated charcoal cloth
to absorb any acidic gases released from the balloons and slow down
deterioration.

GD22 - Balloon samples, after treatment. Balloons are inserted into a polyester sleeve and stored in a shallow clam shell box with frame.

There is also a plastic banner in the HIV/AIDS collection which
has a strong ‘plastic’ smell, suggesting it is deteriorating rapidly and likely
to become brittle as it ages. To avoid excessive handling of this object, I
created a ‘concertina’ folder which could display three flags only and leave
the rest untouched. Since the “Take Care” logo is repeated on each flag, it is
not necessary to view the entire length of the bunting. This way, the general design of the bunting
can be viewed and the condition of the item can be monitored without touching
it at all.

GD22 - Plastic Bunting, after treatment. Object is stored in a 'concertina' folder.

If an object is at high risk of deterioration and needs to be
monitored regularly, it may be best to store it so that it can be viewed easily,
without excessive handling. For example, a collection of vulnerable plastic watches
were previously stored wrapped up in tissue paper, again making the items
difficult to view and hard to wrap up neatly once the package had been opened.
To aid monitoring of these items, I made a box using mount board with a clear
polyester window on top. As plastics degrade, they release acidic vapours. If these are trapped inside a box, they can speed up the deterioration process of the object. Therefore, ventilation holes were made at the corners of the box to ensure these
vapours can escape, whilst still protecting the object.

Friday, 10 October 2014

In this week's blog, Project Cataloguing Archivist Karyn talks about dipping her toes into the world of archive education:

When I started working as the Project Cataloguing Archivist on the
HIV/AIDS project in May, I had very little knowledge of HIV/AIDS as a disease
and the effect it has on people’s lives. Working through the records to prepare
them to be catalogued really opened my eyes to the impact that the HIV/AIDS epidemic
had on Edinburgh as a city. The collections' inscription to the UNESCO UK Memory of the World Register highlights the ways in which the epidemic impacted upon world history and
the role that Edinburgh has played in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Official recognition of LHSA's HIV/AIDS collections by UNESCO, awarded in 2011.

As the project progressed, it became apparent that the
records contained huge educational potential and that the
subject of HIV/AIDS is not discussed in schools as much as it should be.
Although the content of the material is in many ways sensitive, the importance
of educating the public about the dangers of the disease and the importance of
safe sex is no less important.

It is for this reason that the project has expanded over the
last few months to include a targeted educational outreach aspect. Project
staff have been working hard to use the records to produce a series of
educational resources for use in classrooms across Scotland. These resources
have been produced in line with the Curriculum for Excellence, and it is hoped that we can win further funding to build a dedicated website and to run a series of workshops to show teachers how to use the
resources and where to find more information on HIV/AIDS.

The resources are based around the more visual aspects of
the collection, including posters, postcards and other promotional material. We hope that this will provide an avenue for class discussion,
debate and creative output. External input from education profession is
important to the success of the resources: advice and feedback from Education Scotland, education professionals and teachers themselves will help the material to be put to good use.

World AIDS Day resource pack (GD21/4/3), an example of some of the amazing graphic design in our HIV/AIDS collections.

Teachers and pupils will be able to access the website
long after the project has ended and it is hoped that future LHSA projects will add to the resources already produced. The HIV/AIDS project
has shown that there are many different ways for archivists to provide access
to their collections - and sometimes thinking outside the box provides the best
results.

Friday, 3 October 2014

Project Cataloguing Archivists Liz Course and Karyn
Williamson have bravely (or foolishly!) signed up to abseil from the Forth Rail
Bridge on Sunday 19th October to raise money for Waverly Care, a
Scotland wide charity which provides care and support to people living with HIV
and Hepatitis C. They will be abseiling down 165ft from a platform at the first
pillar of the bridge onto the beach below at South Queensferry with several hundred other
fundraisers collecting for various charities. They are smiling in this
photograph, but there will be further photographic evidence to show they have
completed the challenge and we will see if they are still smiling then!

Liz and Karyn - all smiles for now!

It looks pretty high to me... image from Edinburgh University Archives Collections EUA CA1/2

LHSA has established links with Waverly Care over the past
few months as part of the Wellcome Trust funded HIV/AIDS cataloguing and
conservation project. Material relating to and produced by Waverley Care can be
found in some of the collections that Karyn and Emily have been cataloguing and
conserving. Following discussions with
the charity and after an afternoon spent with them appraising material, they
have decided to deposit some of their records with LHSA.

Waverley
Care was established in 1989 and works to provide care, advice and assistance
to individuals and their families affected by HIV and Hepatitis C in Scotland.
They provide a range of services and also focus on educating people to promote
understanding and prevention. To find out more visit their website: http://www.waverleycare.org/

Good luck to
Karyn and Liz in their fundraising efforts and in not developing a fear of
heights between now and the 19th!

We also say goodbye to Intern Stephen Bournadet today after
10 weeks with us and we look forward to welcoming new Archive Intern, Clair
Millar, to LHSA on Monday.

Lothian Health Services Archive holds the historically important local records of NHS hospitals and other health-related material.
We collect, preserve and catalogue these records and promote them to increase understanding of the history of health and for the benefit of all.

Use of images from LHSA collections

We can provide images from items in our collections, subject to various conditions. Images are provided for private study or non-commercial research, and cannot be used for other purposes unless you request and receive written permission from LHSA to do so.

If you wish to use any images that have been featured on this blog, please contact us at lhsa@ed.ac.uk and we will be happy to discuss permissions with you.